Despite the decision to stop kneeling before every game, Mikel Arteta has urged Premier League clubs to continue expressing a strong anti-discrimination statement.

The 20 club captains met this week to determine whether to continue the gesture that started on June 17, 2020, when England's top division resumed games following George Floyd's passing and a break caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.

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According to sources who spoke to ESPN, the captains were split on the subject; some thought their message had lost its force, while others thought it was crucial to keep it strong.

It was then announced by the Premier League that it would take place at "important points of the season," such as "the first and last rounds of matches, the dedicated No Room for Racism rounds in October and March, the Boxing Day games and the Carabao and FA Cup finals."

Arteta responded at a news conference on Thursday when asked about it, saying: "I hope it is equally productive and we should still send a very important message that as a club we want to obviously express that equality is a massive thing for us, that everybody is welcome in our football club, in our industry hopefully, and we need to maintain to be strong on that message."

Despite the fact that Arsenal has already spent more than £100 million on new recruits this summer, Arteta hinted at future additions. However, their top objective right now is to find favorable offers for a number of undesired players, such as Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, and Nicolas Pepe.

Everything is still open, and you can tell that we are quite busy from the comings and goings. "That window is really long. Much has occurred.

"The amount of commerce the clubs have already generated in the Premier League is astounding. And it illustrates how fiercely competitive this season will be. That will not come to an end. Players will eventually need to depart, and some others may need to move, but everything is still up for grabs."

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney, Fabio Vieira, and Emile Smith Rowe all have fitness questions for Arsenal. "Three of the four" will practice later on Thursday, according to Arteta, but he would not say which player wouldn't be there.